Most AI meeting tools record. A bot joins your call, captures the audio and video, stores it, and writes a summary from that recording. That is the default for the big names. If you only need a tidy recap of an internal team meeting, that is fine. But if you take client calls and have to keep a defensible record afterwards, a stored recording of every conversation can be a liability you did not ask for.
So a real category has grown up around the idea of not recording. The trouble is the marketing language has run ahead of the technical reality. Three tools can all say "we don't record" and mean three completely different things. Let's sort them out.
Which AI meeting assistant doesn't record audio at all?
Very few. Most AI meeting assistants record the call, and most of the ones sold as an AI note taker without recording still capture the audio for a moment and then delete it. As at October 2026, the tools we can point to fall into three groups, based on each vendor's own description.
- Never receives the call audio. CallNote works from a transcript your phone or meeting system has already produced. It does not record calls, does not join meetings and does not store call audio.
- Captures audio, keeps no audio file. Granola says it does not store the audio from meetings and keeps only the transcript and your notes. Fireflies says its desktop no-bot mode produces a transcript and notes with no saved audio or video file, and it also describes transcript-only and summary-only modes, on its Enterprise plan, for organisations that cannot store audio. Fathom's newer bot-free version, on Mac only as at October 2026, has a Transcript Only mode in which it says no recording is saved.
- Says it does not record. Zocks says client conversations are never recorded. Jamie says no bot joins and that meeting audio is deleted after transcription. Read each one's description of what happens to the audio before you rely on it.
So if the question is which tool has no call audio pass through it at all, the answer is a transcript-only tool. If the question is which tool leaves no recording behind, the list is longer. The next section explains the difference.
What "doesn't record" actually means (three levels)
When a vendor says it doesn't record, it usually means one of these three. They are not equal.
1. No stored audio
The tool still captures and transcribes your audio in real time, but it deletes the audio straight after and keeps only the transcript. There is a moment where the audio exists and is processed. Nothing is saved long term. This is genuine data minimisation and a real step up from the recorders. Granola is the clearest example. Fireflies' desktop no-bot mode keeps no audio file either, and Jamie says it deletes meeting audio after transcription.
2. Never captures audio (no-record claim)
The tool says it captures meeting data without recording the audio stream at all, pulling content another way. The wording varies by vendor and the exact mechanism is not always spelled out, so read each one's own description carefully. Zocks sits here: its site says client conversations are never recorded.
3. Receives a transcript that already exists
The tool never touches your call at all. Your phone system or meeting platform already produced a transcript. The note tool simply receives that text and turns it into a structured note. There is no capture, no bot, no audio passing through it, because the audio was never its job. This is where CallNote sits. CallNote receives the transcript your phone or meeting system already produced and generates the note from it.
For more on what these tools do and don't capture, see our plain-English explainer, do AI note takers record your calls.
Are there meeting note tools that don't record audio to the cloud?
Yes, with a caveat. Several tools keep no audio recording on their servers. Granola says it transcribes in real time on macOS and Windows and stores only the transcript and notes. Jamie says meeting audio is deleted after transcription. Fireflies' desktop no-bot mode saves no audio file. CallNote never receives the call audio in the first place.
The caveat is that the words still go to the cloud. Every tool on this page sends the transcript text to a server to write the notes, and that text holds the same client details the audio did. Not stored is also different from never sent: Granola, for one, says it uses outside transcription providers to turn the audio into text. Granola says its notes are stored in a US-hosted AWS environment. CallNote stores notes and transcripts in Sydney, and the note itself is written by an AI provider outside Australia, which we set out on our security page. No stored audio is a real reduction in what is held. It does not mean nothing is held.
The honest list of no-record options
Here are the tools worth knowing if avoiding a stored recording is your goal. Where pricing is shown it is from the vendor's own pricing page in October 2026, in the vendor's own currency, so check their current pricing before you commit. Each has genuine strengths.
Granola - no stored audio
Granola is a bot-free app that captures your computer's meeting audio and microphone, transcribes it in real time and does not store the audio, keeping only the transcript and your notes. No video. It is invisible in meetings because there is no bot participant, it has a SOC 2 Type 2 report, and the desktop app works with any call platform. As at October 2026 it has apps for macOS, Windows, iPhone and Android, with the mobile app built for in-person meetings (on iPhone it can also take notes on outbound calls made through its own dialler). Of the tools that still touch audio, Granola has the strongest data-minimisation story. Things to weigh up: notes are stored in a US-hosted AWS environment, it still transcribes your audio itself, and it trains on anonymised data unless you opt out in Settings (Enterprise users have training off by default). It is built for personal and team meeting notes more than a regulated client file. Its site says it is free to get started; check there for current paid pricing.
Zocks - no-record claim, US advisers
Zocks is a US tool for financial advisers. Its site says client conversations are never recorded and that no LLMs hold or train on your data, and its trust page lists SOC 2 Type 2. Its strength is integration with adviser CRMs: its pricing page lists Salesforce, Redtail and Wealthbox among others. The catch for an Australian is that it is built around US CRMs and US compliance, with USD pricing (its pricing page showed US$67 to US$220 per user per month in October 2026, depending on plan and billing, check current). Great fit in the US, less natural here.
Jamie - bot-free, EU-built
Jamie is bot-free. Its site says it runs on your device, works across online meeting platforms and in-person meetings, and deletes meeting audio after transcription. It is clean and simple. It has a strong EU privacy posture: its site lists GDPR and ISO 27001, says data storage and processing stay within the EEA, Switzerland and the UK, and says your data is not used to train models. The trade-offs for an Australian: it still captures the audio itself, it is a general meeting note taker and not a client-record tool, the data sits in Europe, and pricing is in euros (in October 2026 its pricing page showed a free plan with 10 AI notes a month, Plus at EUR21 and Pro at EUR39 a month, billed annually).
CallNote - receives the transcript, never records
CallNote is an Australian web app. It never records your calls and never sends a bot to the call. It receives the transcript your phone or meeting system already produced and turns it into a clean, structured file note in about two minutes. You review it, then publish it: timestamped, SHA-256 sealed, with an append-only audit log. Your data is stored in Australia (Sydney), AES-256 encrypted, and never used to train AI models. Today you can get a transcript in by pasting it, uploading a voice memo (transcribed via Deepgram, handy for in-person and mobile calls), forwarding it to a unique email address, or connecting Dialpad, Aircall or Microsoft Teams so every transcript becomes a note. It is built for the Australian client record, with per-state recording-consent scripts for all eight states and territories and customisable note templates: a neutral General template by default, an NCCP loan-suitability template for brokers, and build-your-own for any profession. It runs on any device and is not locked to one operating system.
How they compare at a glance
| Tool | What it does with audio | Where data is hosted | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granola | Transcribes device audio, does not store it, keeps the transcript | US | Personal and team meeting notes without a bot |
| Fireflies (desktop no-bot mode) | Captures computer audio, keeps a transcript and notes with no audio file | US by default | Teams already on Fireflies who want some calls kept without a recording |
| Zocks | Says client conversations are never recorded | Not stated on the pages we read | US financial advisers on US CRMs |
| Jamie | Runs on your device with no bot; says audio is deleted after transcription | EEA, Switzerland and UK | General personal notes, EU privacy buyers |
| CallNote | Never records the call; receives a transcript that already exists | Australia (AWS Sydney) | Australian client-facing professionals who need a file note for the client record |
If you want to dig into the underlying difference between a bot that joins your call and a tool that only takes a transcript, that is covered in meeting bots vs transcript-only note tools.
AI note takers that don't train on your data
Not recording and not training are separate promises, and a tool can make one without the other. Here is what each vendor's own policy or security page said in October 2026.
| Tool | Trains its own models on your meetings? | How to turn it off |
|---|---|---|
| Fireflies | No. Its privacy policy says it does not use personal information for AI model training and bars its vendors from doing so. | Nothing to switch off |
| Zoom AI Companion | No. Zoom says it does not use audio, video, chat or similar customer content to train its own or third-party AI models. | Nothing to switch off |
| Microsoft Teams with Copilot | No. Microsoft says prompts, responses and data accessed through Microsoft Graph are not used to train foundation models. | Nothing to switch off |
| CallNote | No. We do not train AI models on your data. | Nothing to switch off |
| Fathom | Yes by default, on de-identified data, for its own models | Opt out in My Settings, or for the whole organisation on Team Edition |
| Granola | Yes by default, on anonymised data. Off by default for Enterprise users. | Opt out in Settings |
| Otter | Yes. Its policy says it trains its own AI on de-identified audio recordings and on transcripts. | No general opt-out is described on its privacy or security pages. Ask Otter in writing. |
Otter, Fathom, Fireflies and Granola also say the outside AI companies they use are not allowed to train on your content. Jamie, Zocks and tl;dv each say on their own sites that customer data is not used to train AI models. We go through the Otter, Fathom and Fireflies policies clause by clause in are AI note takers safe.
AI note taker without a bot, or without joining the meeting
Without a bot is a third promise again. A bot-free tool does not add a participant to your call, but it can still record. Fathom's bot-free version, on Mac only as at October 2026, has an Audio Only mode that captures audio on your device and a Transcript Only mode that saves no recording. Granola and Fireflies' desktop mode capture your computer's audio without joining. CallNote does not join or capture anything, because it starts from the transcript. The full breakdown is in AI note taker without a bot.
Granola or CallNote? They solve different problems
These two get compared a lot because both market away from recordings, but they are aimed at different jobs. Granola is a polished personal and team note taker. It transcribes your device audio, does not store it, and keeps a transcript. It is invisible in the room and works across any meeting platform, which a lot of people love. It is US-hosted.
CallNote is built for the Australian client record. It never records your calls; it works from a transcript that already exists, so the call audio is never in the picture. It is AU-hosted, works on any device including phone calls, and adds the things a regulated file note needs: per-state consent scripts, an NCCP template, sealed lodged notes and an audit trail. So the honest framing is different tools for different jobs, not better or worse. The full side-by-side is on our CallNote vs Granola page, and you can see the rest of the field on the comparison hub.
Where the audio goes is half the choice. The other half is the note you end up with. The sample below is a finished CallNote file note written from a mocked call, so you can judge the output before you try anything.
Not sure it fits? See a sample file note before you decide.
Pick your line of work and we'll send a sample note written from a mocked call. No account, no card, and nothing from your own client files.
One sample note, plus the occasional CallNote update. Unsubscribe any time by replying. We never ask for your call recordings or client files.
Which one is right for you
- You want a slick personal or team note taker with no bot in the room: look hard at Granola.
- You are a US financial adviser living in Salesforce or Redtail: Zocks fits your stack.
- You want a simple bot-free personal note taker and you are in Europe: Jamie is clean and private.
- You are an Australian who takes client calls and has to keep a defensible record (mortgage broker, financial adviser, buyer's agent, lawyer, accountant): CallNote is built for exactly that, AU-hosted, with the consent scripts and audit trail to match.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Your own obligations depend on your profession, your licensee or aggregator, and the states you operate in. If you are unsure what your file-note or recording-consent duties are, check with your compliance team.
Common questions
Which AI meeting assistant doesn't record audio at all?
A transcript-only tool. CallNote never receives the call audio because it works from a transcript your phone or meeting system already made. Granola and Fireflies' desktop no-bot mode do capture the audio but keep no audio file, only a transcript and notes. Most other meeting assistants record and store the call.
Are there meeting note tools that don't record audio to the cloud?
Yes. Granola says it stores only the transcript and notes, Jamie says it deletes meeting audio after transcription, Fireflies' desktop no-bot mode saves no audio file, and CallNote never receives call audio. In every case the transcript text is still sent to a server to write the notes, so check where that text is stored.
Is there an AI notetaker that doesn't train on my data?
Yes. As at October 2026, Fireflies, Zoom, Microsoft and CallNote say they do not train AI models on customer meeting content. Fathom and Granola train their own models on de-identified or anonymised data by default and let you opt out in settings. Otter's policy says it trains on de-identified audio and on transcripts. Check the current policy before relying on this.
Is there an AI note taker without a bot that also doesn't record?
Bot-free and no recording are different things. Fathom's bot-free version has an Audio Only mode that still captures audio, and a Transcript Only mode that saves no recording. Granola and Fireflies' desktop mode join nothing and keep no audio file. CallNote joins nothing and captures nothing, because it starts from an existing transcript.
Does "doesn't record" mean no audio is ever captured?
Not always. It can mean three things: the audio is captured and transcribed then deleted (no stored audio, like Granola), the tool says conversations are never recorded (like Zocks, read its wording), or the tool never touches your call and only receives a transcript that already exists (like CallNote). Only the last one means audio was never the tool's job.
What is the difference between Granola and CallNote?
Granola is a personal and team note taker that transcribes your device audio without storing it, keeping the transcript; it is US-hosted. CallNote never records your calls. It receives a transcript your phone or meeting system already made, is hosted in AWS Sydney, works on any device, and is built for the Australian client record. Different tools for different jobs.
Is a no-record tool better for Australian compliance?
It can be, because not holding a stored recording of every client call reduces what you have to secure and explain. But hosting location and your file-note and consent obligations matter just as much. A tool that is AU-hosted and built around the Australian client record fits an Australian compliance buyer more naturally than a US or EU general note taker. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
Can I use these tools for phone calls, not just video meetings?
Some, yes. CallNote works for phone calls because it receives the transcript your phone system produced, and you can also upload a voice memo or paste a transcript. Many bot-based recorders are aimed at Zoom, Teams and Meet and handle phone calls less naturally, so check each tool's support for phone before you rely on it.